Intimate Impressions: A Recital of Contemporary Piano Works from Spain 27 January, 2013: Pianist and frequent collaborator with the Foundation for Iberian Music Adam Kent will perform contemporary piano works from Catalan composers at Spectrum on Sunday, January 27 at 3pm. The program will include pieces by Federico Mompou, Carlos Surinach, and Xavier Montsalvatge. Additionally, Mr. Kent will perform new music by Benet Casablancas whose “Dance, Song and Celebration: Homage to Montsalvatge” was the 2012 Composer’s Commission. Pianist ADAM KENT in Intimate Impressions: A Recital of Contemporary Piano Works from Spain Works by Federico Mompou, Carlos Surinach, and Xavier Montsalvatge. Premieres of new compositions by Benet Casablancas. Concert and Tea Sunday, January 27 at 3 p.m. 121 Ludlow St., NY, NY Admission: $20 Visit www.spectrumnyc.com for further details and directions.
Paquito D’Rivera: The Jazz Chamber Trio Paquito D’Rivera’s The Jazz Chamber Trio (2005) has received rave reviews all over the world. The album was recorded at the Elebash Recital Hall under the auspices of the Foundation for Iberian Music. Mr. D’Rivera was a recipient of an honorary Doctorate of Musical Arts in 2010 from The Graduate Center at the City University of New York, and he wrote the 2009 Foundation for Iberian Music Composer’s Commission “Ladies in White.”
Federic Mompou Symposium in Barcelona 11 December 2012: The Foundation for Iberian Music where the Mompou Chair was established in 2003, is proud to co-sponsor the up-coming series of events in Barcelona, including a symposium and concerts, about Federic Mompou (1893-1987) and his music. The ESMUC (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya) is organizing the symposium in honor of Mompou’s 25th Anniversary on December 11, 12, and 13, 2012. Activities for the three-day event include: round tables, performances of Mompou’s work, film presentations, and guided tours of the exposition Mompou i Gaudí at the Museu de la Música. For more information about the symposium, visit its website here. The Foundation for Iberian Music maintains a bibliography of scholarly publications about Mompou and his music. Visit the Mompou bibliography and the Short History of Catalan Music to learn more about Mompou’s life and music.
“Homenatge” by Tania León Performed at the Dance Theater of Harlem 20 November 2012: The Dance Theater of Harlem has included Professor Tania León’s Homenatge in its current dance program and performance tour. Prof. León’s composition is from the 2011 Foundation for Iberian Music Composer’s Commission. Currently, the Dance Theater of Harlem Company is touring the U.S. From now until summer 2013, the theater will visit various cities acorss U.S., performing Homenatge among other pieces. For more information about the dance company’s tour, click here.
Spanish Radio Interviews Antoni Pizà 6 November 2012: IB3 Radio interviews director of the Foundation for Iberian Music Antoni Pizà about recent New York and U.S. events. In the interview, Prof. Pizà discusses the impact Hurricane Sandy had on the New York state and region and the importance of the upcoming national elections. Listen to the interview below or in the Audio Archive. http://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/Memo-1.mp3
Chamber Music of Miguel A. Roig-Francolí Featuring Adam Kent and Friends 17 November 2013, 7:30 pm: Composer Miguel A. Roig-Francolí and friends will celebrate his 60th birthday at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. The concert will feature chamber music by Roig-Francolí, including “Songs of the Infinite,” the Foundation for Iberian Music’s 2010 Composer’s Commission. Pianist Adam Kent and violinist Jennifer Roig-Francolí will both perform in the concert, as well as cellist Julia MacLaine, soprano Abigail Santos Villalobos, and the Damocles Trio. The following works will be performed: Sonata for cello and piano (1985)* Songs of the Infinite, for violin and piano (2010) Cinco Canciones con los Ojos Cerrados (2011)* Suite Apócrifa, for piano (1978) Songs of Light and Darkness, for piano trio (2011)* *New York premiere Performers: Adam Kent, Piano Jennifer Roig-Francoli, Violin Julia MacLaine, Cello Abigail Santos Villalobos, Soprano Damocles Trio ··Airi Yoshioka, Violin ··Sibylle Johner, Cello ··Adam Kent, Piano Tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 17 at 11 am. For more information about the upcoming performance, click here. Click here to see the Program Notes for the event. This same program was performed at the Werner Recital Hall at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music on October 8th. See a review of that performance here. The upcoming New York event is already starting to generate excitement at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Miguel A. Roig-Francolí (Ibiza, Spain, 1953) is a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. His work as a music theorist, composer, musicologist, and pedagogue has been recognized internationally. His compositions have been widely performed in Spain, England, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, France, Colombia, and the United States. Critics have consistently noted his expert craft, his respect for the past, and his will for direct communication. He has published over twenty articles in leading scholarly journals and collections of essays in the U.S.A., England, Italy, and Spain, on topics ranging from sixteenth-century compositional theory and the music of Spanish Renaissance composers Antonio de Cabezón and Tomás Luis de Victoria to the music of György Ligeti. Roig-Francolí is the author of two textbooks published by McGraw-Hill and widely used at universities in the U.S. and Canada. The recently issued Chinese translation of Understanding Post-Tonal Music is quickly becoming the standard post-tonal textbook at major Chinese conservatories. Among his many honors are first prize at the National Composition Competition of the Spanish Jeunesses Musicales (1981) and second prize at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers (Paris, 1982), both for Five Pieces for Orchestra; the Medal of Honor from the Superior Conservatory of Music of the Balearic Islands (Spain, 2004); the University of Cincinnati’s A.B. “Dolly” Cohen Award for Excellence in Teaching (2007) and George Rieveschl Jr. Award for Creative and/or Scholarly Works (2009), and the Ramón Llull Prize from the Goverment of the Balearic Islands (2010). “A rich, luminous, poetic, energetic expression…” El País (Madrid, Spain). “…great power of conviction, outstanding craft.” El País (Madrid, Spain).
Conductor Ángel Gil-Ordóñez and PostClassical Ensemble Perform in Washington D.C. 4 November 2012: Ángel Gil-Ordóñez, conductor of PostClassical Ensemble recently performed at the Shostakovich Festival on November 4 in Washington D.C. Recently, Gil-Oróñez has been the Principle Guest Conductor for Perspectives Ensemble earlier in the fall for the concert “Homage to Catalonia” held at the Morgan Library and Museum. At the festival, PostClassical Ensemble and Gil-Ordóñez received good reviews from critics and audiences. Here is a link to the Washington Post’s review of the performance: “PostClassical Ensemble performance transcends Shostakovich’s modest intentions.“
Antoni Pizà Interviewed on IB3 Radio 30 July 2012: Director of the Foundation for Iberian Music, Antoni Pizà was interviewed by Noemí Garcies on the program Tassa i Mitja on IB3 Radio on July 30, 2012. Prof. Pizà spoke about his most recent publication, En la república del ruido: crónicas musicales desde Nueva York (Edicions Documenta 2012). Listen here for the full interview or visit the Audio Archive. http://brookcenter.gc.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/IB3-Interview1.mp3
AMS/SEM/SMT Joint Conference in New Orleans 4 November 2012: The American Musicological Society, Society for Ethnomusicology, and Society for Music Theory held a joint conference in New Orleans over November 1-4. Antoni Pizà director of the Foundation for Iberian Music participated in the conference. Prof. Pizà’s paper, “Modernism, Nationalism, and Race in the Early Jazz of Barcelona, 1900-36,” was part of the panel, “Jazz Dialogues between Ibero-America and the United States” on Saturday, November 3.
New York Andalus Ensemble Concert 10 December 2012: The New York Andalus Ensemble will give a free concert at the CUNY Graduate Center on December 10 at 7:00pm in Elebash Recital Hall. Led by Samuel Thomas, Artistic Director and Mimi Keghida, Managing Director, the ensemble is a community ensemble housed at the City University of New York. This ensemble is underwritten by a number of different sponsoring institutions, including the Foundation for Iberian Music, the Music Programs at CUNY, the Institute for Sephardic Studies, and the Middle East and Middle Eastern American Center (MEMEAC). The mission of this ensemble is to bring participants from varied backgrounds together to learn about the rich and varied cultures of the Maghreb and al-Andalus, through musical study and expression. Furthermore, participants are to gain a level of competency and experience with the musical styles so that the ensemble can perform and share this music with diverse audiences. Free and open to the public, no reservations required. Monday, December 10, 2012 – 7:00pm Elebash Recital Hall 365 Fifth Avenue New York, NY